Rhyparic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Marked by extreme dirtiness, squalor, or filthy conditions
2. Of or relating to a state of gross uncleanliness and degradation
3. Characterized by revolting filth and a sordid, neglected appearance

Etymology: In his "Natural History," the Roman writer Pliny the Elder describes a Greek painter, Piraeicus, who chose humble subjects over gods and heroes: barbers' shops, cobblers' workrooms, donkeys, and meals. Pliny classed this work as "rhyparography," a term built on the Greek "rhyparos," meaning "dirty" or "filthy," which in turn comes from "rhypos," meaning filth. The adjective "rhyparic" is the English form of that Greek base. It describes what belongs to such low, sordid painting, or more loosely, to filth. It is a learned coinage, drawn from classical Greek by English writers who wanted precise terms for art and description, so it appears mainly in scholarly or specialist writing rather than everyday speech.